Barbed wire, iron gate business booming
Barbed wire, iron gate business booming
JAKARTA (JP): Unlike many other commercial activities, the
business of iron gates and barbed wires in the capital has been
booming since the May 1998 riots and is mainly due to
skyrocketing demands by wealthy Jakartans.
Although the prices have at least doubled by producers and
traders, many property owners insist on shielding their assets
such as mansions, shops and business centers, with high gates and
barbed wires in an all-out effort to protect their belongings
from being touched or torched by mobs after what many Jakartans
experienced last year.
Speaking to The Jakarta Post on Monday, businessmen dealing in
the production, design and installation of the iron gates and
barbed wires said orders doubled especially right after the May
1998 uproar and in these weeks ahead of the upcoming June general
election.
"Until today, the orders keep flowing in," said a
representative of Gampang Ingat iron gate shop which sells the
popular Varia brand name on Jl. Hayam Wuruk in West Jakarta.
Monthly orders at the shop have now tripled to 30 gates,
compared to 10 sold each month before the May 1998 riots rocked
the capital, said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He explained the total price charged for installation and
painting of iron gates currently ranges from Rp 700,000
(US$87.50) to Rp 1.1 million per square meter.
"Most Jakartans, especially those residing in West and South
Jakarta, apparently do not care about this (price)," he added.
To date, hundreds of May 1998 riot-torn buildings with broken
windows and burned facades are still easily spotted in and around
the capital.
The 1998 riots, the largest which ever took place in the
history of Jakarta, claimed over a thousand lives and caused
losses totaling billions of rupiah.
Such grim sceneries are still witnessed in Cengkareng and
along Jl. Daan Mogot, Jl. Hayam Wuruk and in Kalideres in West
Jakarta, and Cileduk and Cipete in South Jakarta.
"I think, those sights are enough to scare them (the wealthy
families) to buy (newly-modified) iron gates," the representative
of Gampang Ingat shop said.
The sales of barbed wire were also the same.
Rewo of Dua Saudara shop on Jl. Pangeran Jayakarta in West
Jakarta said the price of 4-meter barbed wire of standard quality
has climbed to Rp 4,500 from Rp 1,400 previously.
Special quality barbed wire is now priced at Rp 26,000, nearly
double than the previous Rp 15,000, he said.
"But still, people keep on buying it," Rewo said.
The increased need of iron gates and barbed wires in the city
has also led to a significant hike for raw materials.
Due to alluring prices, many people have taken a short cut to
earn money from the business by stealing anything made of iron,
including from public facilities, to sell later to iron shops.
Many giant traffic signs and fixtures at toll roads in and
around the capital have gone missing.
On the Kebon Jeruk-Tangerang toll road, for example, iron
sheets installed by the operator to help drivers see by
deflecting strong lights coming from vehicles in opposite lanes,
have also gone missing.
Amin of Besi Bungur iron shop in Central Jakarta said that the
"supply" of raw materials has never stopped and therefore, his
shop has never rejected any orders.
"Our shop always bought the raw materials, no matter how
expensive they were," Amin said but did not explain who his
suppliers were.
According to him, the iron gates or barbed wires are not
similar with chilies.
"People can opt not to buy chilies when its prices go up. But
gates?" he said.
"It's about protection. Nobody sane wants to be caught in
riots... everybody's scared of dying," Amin added.
Some customers even asked for new designs for their gates or
barbed wires which forced shop owners to be more creative to meet
orders.
"There are many who want the ends of wires to be shaped like
bunga duri (flower thorns). They believe that this model would
scare people off their property," Amin said. (ylt/bsr)